Two pipe-bursts on the same road
"I cannot understand that roads with these gradients are patched with PVC to asbestos old pipes," André Mitchell said.
AN underground pipe burst that occurred twice in one week on Byrne Crescent in Northdene left the road caved in and residents without water and vehicular access on Sunday, 1 November.
According to Councillor André Mitchell, the caved-in road was a metre deep in some places, calling it poor maintenance with no excuse. Expressing his frustration in an e-mail to the city’s respective departments, he likened the situation to other roads in the area.
“This has now become similar to Wooten Road and Jo Naude Road, which need complete pipe replacement. I cannot understand that roads with these gradients are patched with PVC to asbestos old pipes. It is this type of non-compatible material pipe patching that keeps on bursting and in the end damaging our roads,” Mitchell stated.
However, unlike the other roads in the area, this was the fourth time that the pipe had burst and resident, Jenny Gonneau, fears her house will get flooded again. “Some time ago last year, the pipe popped and the water came straight down into my house. We had just fixed out driveway and were frustrated that the water left it in a bad condition,” she explained.
Gonneau added that this time round, she was lucky to be at home when the incident happened again because she and her neighbour were able to redirect the water from gushing straight into her home again. Mitchell’s quick thinking saved residents from further possible damage by calling the Metro Police to barricade the area with cones and other signage.
